Broken Cowboy 4500

[catskin]

In this case I wonder if by some chance a wrong screw was put in by accident since it was almost twice as long as it would have needed to be.

Has anyone got a theory as to why most sewing machines use non standard screws? Is it like noted above, so people do not (can not )put in a screw of a different strength?

Edited February 28, 2015 by catskin

[gottaknow]

Back in my early days of being a mechanic, I knew an old timer that had worked for Singer back in the 50's. He explained that the Singers were so well engineered and constructed, that replacement machines were seldom sold. They had to retain sales and market share by selling original Singer parts, including proprietary screws. I still have old invoices from Singer that date back to the 60's. I was a kid back then, but the guy I apprenticed under starting in 1980 kept extensive records, which I've kept over the years. The company I started with (Pacific Trail Sportswear) had 7 factories at one time, being the nations largest producer of down outerwear. Many of those machines are still in use today. I can remember buying all of our Singer parts directly from them.

Frankly, the aftermarket parts suck. Even a big company like Juki, (The king of cloning Singers) will never enjoy the longevity of the Singers. I should say that a new imported machine will usually serve a home hobbyist or small business just fine with proper care for many years. Especially if you buy factory parts when at all possible. My Chinese Juki's (double needle, needle feed lockstitches) will last about 5-7 years in the factory. We run these machine wide open, 40 hours a week. I'm still doing that with Singers from the 60's and they'll likely outlive me. There's just no comparison. My best advice is to always buy replacement parts from a dealer selling original parts.

Regards, Eric

[Colt W Knight]

Back in my early days of being a mechanic, I knew an old timer that had worked for Singer back in the 50's. He explained that the Singers were so well engineered and constructed, that replacement machines were seldom sold. They had to retain sales and market share by selling original Singer parts, including proprietary screws. I still have old invoices from Singer that date back to the 60's. I was a kid back then, but the guy I apprenticed under starting in 1980 kept extensive records, which I've kept over the years. The company I started with (Pacific Trail Sportswear) had 7 factories at one time, being the nations largest producer of down outerwear. Many of those machines are still in use today. I can remember buying all of our Singer parts directly from them.

Frankly, the aftermarket parts suck. Even a big company like Juki, (The king of cloning Singers) will never enjoy the longevity of the Singers. I should say that a new imported machine will usually serve a home hobbyist or small business just fine with proper care for many years. Especially if you buy factory parts when at all possible. My Chinese Juki's (double needle, needle feed lockstitches) will last about 5-7 years in the factory. We run these machine wide open, 40 hours a week. I'm still doing that with Singers from the 60's and they'll likely outlive me. There's just no comparison. My best advice is to always buy replacement parts from a dealer selling original parts.

Regards, Eric

I watched a documentary on sewing machines, and they said that early Singers were so well made they had to start a "trade in" policy so they could gather up old machines and destroy them because here was no need to buy a new machine when once decades old still worked like new.

[Constabulary]

Back in my early days of being a mechanic, I knew an old timer that had worked for Singer back in the 50's. He explained that the Singers were so well engineered and constructed, that replacement machines were seldom sold. They had to retain sales and market share by selling original Singer parts, including proprietary screws. I still have old invoices from Singer that date back to the 60's. I was a kid back then, but the guy I apprenticed under starting in 1980 kept extensive records, which I've kept over the years. The company I started with (Pacific Trail Sportswear) had 7 factories at one time, being the nations largest producer of down outerwear. Many of those machines are still in use today. I can remember buying all of our Singer parts directly from them.

Frankly, the aftermarket parts suck. Even a big company like Juki, (The king of cloning Singers) will never enjoy the longevity of the Singers. I should say that a new imported machine will usually serve a home hobbyist or small business just fine with proper care for many years. Especially if you buy factory parts when at all possible. My Chinese Juki's (double needle, needle feed lockstitches) will last about 5-7 years in the factory. We run these machine wide open, 40 hours a week. I'm still doing that with Singers from the 60's and they'll likely outlive me. There's just no comparison. My best advice is to always buy replacement parts from a dealer selling original parts.

Regards, Eric

Now THAT is an impressive statement from someone whos working day in and day out with all kind of sewing machines!

That substantiates the impression I have from my old Singers!

I can´t help my self but that is exactly what I "feel" when I´m working with my machiens - they all (really all) run like a dream!

But I have to admit that all other machiens I once owned (Pfaffs and Adlers) worked well too but I don´t know why I just like the old Singers better and would never trade them for a more modern machien. I will keep them as long as they last.

[Hockeymender]

Glad you got your screws coming catskin. If I could just add a bit of sage advice about sewing machine screws, it may save someone trouble down the road. I'm currently apprenticing two mechanics. One has about 18 months behind him and the other is just starting. I have known many mechanics over the years, and we all try to get really resourceful and creative. I spend a great deal of time teaching my mechanics how to tighten screws. It begins with having the correct screw as a replacement. A common mis-step is to try and get harder screws that don't break, or will last longer. It just doesn't work long term. A replacement screw that is harder than the threaded hole becomes a tap. It will wear out the threads of a presser bar or needle bar, or something else that is much harder to deal with if it strips. As catskin discovered, the broken screw came out easy for him once the pressure was relieved. I would rather replace screws all day long than replace presser bars or needle bars. I make my guys practice tightening throat plate screws until they can match my torque. There are of course non-stress screws like misc.cover plates and such that you can get your MacGyver on with. Once you own a machine for a while, you'll learn which parts you should keep on hand. Have fun!

Regards, Eric

Eric,

Thanks for the insight you bring to this forum. Been at this for over 20 years (and am by no means any kind of expert) but I find I learn something from most of your posts. Had never given a thought to the hardened screw issue, now I will. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge.

[catskin]

Eric, I do realize that the old machines were made better. What you say just proves what I already thought was true. I have never seen a worn out Singer machine, I have my mothers that the last patent on it was 1890 something and cleaned up a bit it still would sew just fine. Now the reason I bought a new cowboy 4500 is it does NOT get much use and I run it SLOW but it does sew the thick stuff, in the 3 years I have had it I probably haven't put a pound of thread through it so for what I am doing it will likely last as long as I live and still be in good shape.

For the amount of work it does it likely didn't make business sense to even buy it, but I have it for what I want to do. My way of justifying buying it is I don't smoke, drink , gamble or do a lot of other things that cost, so I had the money, and at the end of the day I will still have a sewing machine to show for my money whereas the people doing those things will not have anything to resell.

[Singermania]

Like a lot of dealers I have a parts box full of machine screws from sewing machines, however as the owner of Steve's Leather Machines and Cowboy Leather Machines in Australia and having warranties in mind its really best for late model machines to order the correct screw from your supplier, in Australia that would be us on 0419 393750, in the US its going to be Steve or Neels etc. For those people out here that have Cowboy, Master or Hightex machines and are missing bits due to lack of support from previous supplier, please contact us as we are keen to get these machines back up on top where they belong.